Please
note there is an import review for We Love Katamari
posted below this review.

I
swear that the concept for the Katamari Damacy gameplay
was the result of a bizarre dream or over-consumption
of a variety of offerings at some degenerate party.
You know how those nerds can get on a Friday night.
This is one of the strangest and most unique concepts
for a console game that I've ever encountered - and
it all works beautifully. It worked so well for Katamari
Damacy that it's spawned a sequel: We Love Katamari.

This
whole Katamari gameplay is categorized under the puzzles
genre, which doesn't properly quantify the gameplay.
If this series continues it may possibly warrant its
own classification but even though this sequel is
great, it doesn't evolve the concept making it doubtful
that a third instalment would be successful if it
continued along with the same gameplay formula. So
in other words, don't hold your breath for a new genre
classification.

If
you loved the original Katamari you'll love this one
too, as it retains most of what made the original
such a fantastic game. Sequels are given a little
bit of leeway and are judged less on originality since
they are basically just expanding on the popularity
of a previous product that have the masses clamouring
for more. In We Love Katamari, that's exactly what
the masses are doing. The in-game characters were
so impressed with the King of the Cosmos original
katamari that they want his excellence to show them
more. By stroking the King's ego he's only too willing
to oblige and so begins an encore performance.

A
katamari is an enchanted ball that is rolled through
various environments. Items become attached to the
ball as it grows in size like a snowball rolling down
a hill. Using the two analog sticks you control the
direction of the katamari as you continue to roll
over and pick up these strange objects that include
toys, trees, students, pedestrians, fish and even
entire countries. In the original game the King of
the Cosmos got reeling drunk and lost all of the stars
in the universe. It was the Prince of the Cosmos that
had to come to the rescue and restore all of the stars
using the katamari. In this sequel, the King's subjects
beg to see more of the katamari's powers. They too
demand a sequel and that's just what they get.

The
story is just as wacky as ever. Cutscenes give us
insight into the King's history but as usual he doesn't
say anything brilliant. Everything out of his mouth
is pure lunacy. The game's sense of humor is just
as bizarre as the gameplay which is perfect marriage
of insanity and functionality. Nothing really makes
sense and it really doesn't have to. The gameplay
can't be taken seriously. Different characters and
different situations could have been used but they
would still have to be funny and bizarre to foreshadow
the gameplay. There's no reason to take this seriously,
it's just pure, strange fun.

Different
missions require you to make bigger and better katamaris.
You will have to meet size and time requirements in
some levels. Failure to do so will result in a chastising
by the King as he verbally assaults you while staring
you down with laser eyes. In one level your katamari
is a sumo wrestler that you must feed in order to
grow in size. In another mission you will have to
collect all the countries on the planet to save it
from an asteroid. The missions aren't very difficult
and the overall game is short but the replay value
manifests itself as you replay the levels multiple
times for a better score to appease the King.

A
more improved Verses mode is included which features
a split screen so that you and a friend can race against
each other to be the first to complete the mission
challenge. A two-player co-op mode lets each of you
control one of the dual sticks. It takes some practice
to get the controls synchronized and when you finally
do it's still a lot easier and more fun to just play
the darn game by yourself.

Using
the same graphic palette as before the objects and
characters have a decidedly Star Wars Lego look to
them with simple geometric shapes and primary colors.
The collection of tunes is as eccentric as the gameplay
with experimental J-Rock, techno and other zany aural
offerings. It all combines to produce a surreal experience
that you won't soon forget.

Import
Review By Kelly

OVERALL

4.5

GRAPHICS

3.5

CONTROL

4.5

MUSIC/FX

5.0

VALUE

4.0

Goodness.
The first Katamari was daft, but I loved it. Living
in the UK I had to import it as it as not released
here to my recollections. The moment I heard We Love
Katamari was in development, I placed a pre-order
with my import connection and was a lucky girl! I
received my copy a few days ago and haven't left my
flat once in that time, aside from when I went to
rubberneck at the accident outside my window.

We
Love Katarmi is more of the same rock n roll gameplay
that all of you gamers loved the first time. This
time it's bigger, better and rollier! If you have
no idea what Katamari is about,
let me explain. The object of the game is to roll
around collecting items in a huge ball called a Katamari.
You will start out collecting small items such as
candy, tacks and pens but will soon find yourself
rolling over cars, houses airplanes and mountains!

Genius
creator Keita Takahashi set out to make We Love Katamari
more of the same and I'm sure most of us are happy
with that. If it's unbroken, don't fix it. The story
has changed slightly since the first game. The King
of the Cosmos has become an instant celebrity after
helping the people of Earth in the first game. They
continue to call on the King to help them out, but
he's become increasingly lazier and decides to send
the Prince to do his dirtywork.

The
mission objectives are as crazy as ever and vary from
cleaning a boys room to creating a large snowball
for the head of a snowman to saving the Earth from
a meteor strike (remember the credits from Katamari
Damacy?). Since the objectives and gameplay remain
almost exactly intact, think of We Love Katamari as
more of an expansion of the original than an entirely
new game. Unfortunately some areas of the game that
could have used some attention have been overlooked.
Much like the first game, the difficulty balance is
a bit off as earlier levels can be harder - sometimes
much harder - than later levels. The two player mode
isn't what you'd think and I was slightly disappointed
in that. Instead of playing head to head, two players
will have to cooperate to get the ball rolling at
the same time. Even if you don't care for the two
player there are many other modes and varieties of
game play that expand the replay value of this sequel
far and beyond the original.

If
you can believe it, the music in this sequel is actually
better than in the first game and I think I speak
for everyone when I say the first games soundtrack
was fantastic. The graphics haven't improved, nor
did they need to and the control is as pick up and
play as the original game which means anyone can get
in on the fun.

Imagination
seems to be lacking in videogames these days, which
is ironic considering imagination is what this hobby
was founded on. We Love Katamari Damacy is as unique
and brilliant as videogames get and I highly suggest
you buy a copy when it's released in your area. Good
news for those of us in the U.K. Namco WILL be releasing
this wonderful game here this time! Buy it, don't
rent! If you rent brilliant games, game publishers
don't get an accurate reading of just how popular
a game is and they think it's not worth releasing
games like this. The game industry needs games like
Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari and come to think
of it, so do you.

Preview
By Devin

My
first experience with the now famous (or infamous) Katamari
was at this year's E3. After hearing journalist after
journalist rave about the entertaining gameplay, simple
yet enjoyable graphics and utterly whacked out music
and storyline, I had to try this out for myself.

I
remember walking past the SOCOM 3 booth and seeing
a very girlish looking game, with hearts and rainbows
all about. I signaled to my buddy to pick up the spare
controller for some multiplayer, but after some colorful
language I knew this wasn't a game for him. So alone
I continued on, rolling around to my heart's desire,
knowing little that this game would roll right into
my heart.

Rock
N Roll!
Ok, enough with the Foo-Foo girly stuff, We Love Katamari
is an absolute blast. The demo at E3 had me rolling
my katamari around a school. The first thing that
hit me while playing was the easy learning curve with
the controls. You can literally pick up and play in
We Love Katamari, with the two PS2 analog sticks showing
off some awesome responsiveness.

The
second point that jumped out at me was the graphics.
We Love Katamari seems to have the same graphics as
its predecessor, Katamari Damacy. In fact, the only
true difference between the original and We Love is
the locales. The game's designers over at Namco felt
that reinventing the game was not important, but rather
building upon the already solid foundation. Those
expecting a completely different title might be put
off with the fact that We Love feels more like a really
big expansion pack.

Too
Weird To Be Ignored
The story behind We Love is essentially the same;
the King of the Cosmos berates his son whom goes to
Earth to do his father's bidding. However, the katamari
handler has become so popular on Earth that he's built
a fan base. Instead of having to collect objects to
make stars for the King, the Prince will have to speak
to fans down on Earth for missions. This will eventually
lead him to some brand spanking new locales.

Even
though the demo was limited to a school, We Love Katamari
will feature a whole new world for the Prince and
his cousins to explore. There will be levels under
the ocean, where you'll be collecting fish and other
sea life, and there's also a level in the snow to
see who can build the biggest snowman. Speaking of
cousins, the Prince is no longer the only playable
in single player. Although there are no apparent advantages
in selecting a different character, the Prince's cousins
from Katamari Damacy's multiplayer mode are all playable
characters now.

Domo
Aragato
It may have looked childish, and it may have looked
downright lame, but Katamari Damacy was a huge hit,
one that was welcomed by many in the gaming world.
I suspect We Love Katamari to have the same affect.
It will definitely please the old school Katamari
fans, but it will also bring in a whole new fan base.
Take my word for it, as I'm already saving my quarters
for the game's release.

Preview
By Vaughn

The
sleeper hit of 2004 is returning to the PS2 later
this year and that will be be extremely good news
for fans who loved the bizarre innovative gameplay
of the first Katamari Damacy. Considering it was a
budget title to begin with and a strange concept,
the first game exploded via word of mouth and gained
an extraordinary following on that alone.

If
you don't believe how cool Katamari is, then you have
obviously never played it. It's as fresh and offbeat
as the original Parappa The Rapper. The sequel promises
bigger and better katamaris (the giant circular collections
of items) as well as two player mode so you and a
friend can go at it.

Press:

In
"We Love Katamari," players will find themselves
in various new locations around Earth as the Prince
and his cousins roll up different katamaris according
to the fans requests. "We Love Katamari"
continues the series trademark graphical style
and musical excellence with an original soundtrack
and hundreds of brand new items including Koi fish,
angels and famous Earthly landmarks to roll up. The
Princes celestial rolling has no boundaries;
as his katamari grows larger, he can roll up literally
everything in his path  from underwater creatures
to mountains and even the Eiffel Tower itself!

'Katamari
Damacy' was the break-out hit of 2004 garnering tremendous
accolades while delivering an innovative yet intuitive
style of play to gamers, said Yoshi Niki, Business
Unit Director at Namco Hometek Inc. We are hard
at work on the second installment of this landmark
series that will deliver a new level of originality
and style that will have gamers shouting, We
Love Katamari!